New project to study faith in a secular age

Back in my day, Roman Catholics made a virtue of critical thinking. --Tom Foley

Catholic University of America has launched a 15-month study into faith in a secular age, Patricia Zapor of Catholic News Service reported. The November 19, 2009 launch included a presentation by Charles Taylor, author of A Secular Age (2007) and winner of the 2007 Templeton Prize.

Today, Taylor sees a society where people fall into categories of "seekers" or "dwellers."

Seekers he defines as those who don't want to be told by others what to believe. In a religious context, this may mean that they're people who are willing to be part of a religious tradition or who are looking to reconnect with a faith, said Taylor.

As Father McLean [Oblate Father George F. McLean, president of the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy and director of Catholic University's Center for the Study of Culture and Values] described Taylor's work, dwellers are those who want things decided for them, those who are inclined to commit to "things which are true and old."

I rather doubt these categories resulted from people categorizing themselves as either wanting or not wanting to be told by others what to believe, or wanting or not wanting things decided for them.